US2912737A - Covered buckle - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 17, 1959 A. DRlTz COVERED BUCKLE Filed Dec. 6. 1957 INVENTOR. A R TH UR .DR/TZ /f fr0/swf V5.

United States Patent O COVERED BUCKLE Arthur Dritz, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor to John Dritz & Sons, New York, N.Y., a partnership Application December 6, 1957, serial No. 701,038

1 claim. (c1. 24-163) The present invention relates to a buckle construction, and in particular to that type of buckle adapted to be covered by the home dressmaker with a layer of fabric or the like.

As a consequence of the revival of home dressmaking a great demand has arisen for buckle frames which the home dressmaker can cover with fabric matching the fabric of the belt or garment with which the buckle is to be used, or contrasting therewith in any desired manner. Many types of such buckle frames are available on the market. Most comprise telescopable top and bottom frame pieces. The home dressmaker will cut a layer of covering material, such as fabric, to appropriate size and shape, that covering material will be wrapped around the upper frame piece so as to cover the exposed surfaces thereof and the lower frame piece then will be inserted into the upper frame piece, being held in assembled position in any desired manner.

Because buckles are usually secured to one end of a belt and have the other end of the belt passed therethrough, the buckles are generally of ring-shape, having a central opening, and they usually have a crosspiece extending across the central opening. (The term ring-shape is not limited to devices having a circular shape, but also comprehends other configurations, such as square; rectangular, hexagonal etc. as well as other regular and irregular geometric shapes.) The home dressmaker is therefore presented with many difficulties in attempting to cover the buckle frames. The covering layer of fabric or the like must be cut closely to the proper size and shape. If it is too small the buckle frame will not be adequately covered and portions thereof maybe rendered visible. If it is too large there may not be room within the covered upper frame piece to receive all of the covering layer which is folded thereinto and 'still properly receive the lower frame piece therein, and an excess of infolded covering material Will make itvery difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a uniform and smooth covering of the exterior of the buckle. In addition, even if the covering layer is of proper size and shape, it is a matter of some diiculty to cause the covering layer to conform accurately and smoothly tothe shape of the buckle frame, particularly when the frame is provided with corners or sharply curved peripheral areas. Under normal circumstances the covering layer must be drawn quite tautly over the frame piece, and in attempting to achieve this tautness by Ipulling on the covering layer it is exceedingly difficult to retain the buckle frame centered with respect to the covering layer. This is particularly important since those portions of the covering layer initially extending across the central opening of the frame piece are precut to define flaps adapted to be bent up inside the frame piece and cover the exposed inner surfaces thereof. If the frame piece is not properly centered with respect to the covering sheet these precut flaps will be too long on one side and tooY short-on ther other side, thus produc- ICC 2 ing bunching of the covering on said one side and inadequate covering on said other side..

In accordance with the present invention means are provided for rendering the covering of a buckle of the type under discussion substantially foolproof, and for making attractive and effective covering of such buckle frames well within the skill of the average home dressmaker. To that end it is proposed that a sheet of pliable and form retaining material be supplied with each buckle frame, that sheet being formed, for example, of metal foil of appropriate thickness, and being adapted to be interposed between the covering layer and the frame piece which is to be covered and to be secured, by means of pressure sensitive adhesive or the like, to the covering layer prior to the time that it is placed upon the buckle frame piece. This form retaining sheet will have a peripheral size and shape so related to the peripheral size and shape of the buckle frame that it may function as a template to ensure that the covering layer of fabric or the like is also of proper size and shape.

The advantages and mode of use of such a sheet of pliablev and form retaining material in covering buttons or buckles is disclosed, and its use as thus broadly designated is claimed, in my copending application Ser. No; 548,937 led November 25, 1955 entitled, Hand-Assembled Fabric Covered Button, and assigned to the assignee of the instant application.

In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that by modifying the pliable sheet in the manner hereinafter set forth, many problems peculiarl to the covering of buckles are solved with signal success, and in particular the problems of appropriately centering the buckle frame with respect to the covering layer, accurately forming the aps in the central portion of the covering layer which are adapted to be bent around the exposed inside surfaces of the buckle frame, and achieving accurate and attractive covering of the corners or sharply curved areas of the buckle frame. To these ends the sheet of pliable and form retaining material is preembossed so as to present, on the surface thereof adapted to be engaged by the buckle frame piece to be covered, an intaglio pattern of the size and shape of the ring portion of the buckle. As a further refinement, the sheet of pliable and form retaining material is provided, over the central portion thereof, with cuts or scoring through which the home dressmaker can cut after the pliable sheet has been secured to the covering layer, thereby to form in the covering assembly defined by the covering layer and the pliable sheet attached thereto, flaps of proper size, shape and position to accurately and effectively cover the inner surfaces of the buckle frame.

After the pliable sheet has been secured to the covering layer and the inner aps have been formed therein by cutting, the upper frame piece to be covered is set down upon the exposed surface of the pliable sheet so as to be received within the intaglio pattern. Thereafter the combined covering layer and pliable sheet is bent up around the outside and inside of the frame piece and is folded over into the frame piece. Since the frame piece is positioned by means of the intaglio pattern within which it is received, it will not tend to shift its position and become off-center, and if it does any such shift will be immediately apparent and can be accurately corrected. Because of the embossed pattern in the pliable sheet the combined sheet and covering layer is in effect partially prefolded, and this is particularly significant with respect to the corners or sharply curved areas of the buckle. As a result smooth and even conformation of the two-ply covering assembly to the Patented Nov. 17, 1959V buckle frame is ensured. ln addition, because the pliable sheet is form-retaining, once one portion thereof has been folded around and into the frame piece it will tend to remain in that position without having to be held, thus permitting the home dressmaker to turn her attention to the covering of other portions of the buckle frame without having to worry about the portions thereof which she has already covered.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction of a covered buckle as defined in the appended claim and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an exploded view of the various parts of one embodiment of the present invention, the sheet of pliable and form retaining material being shown with a protective covering of paper or the like on its adhesived surface, which covering is adapted to be stripped therefrom;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the upper frame piece which is to be covered received within the intaglio pattern preformed in the pliable sheet after the later has been secured to the covering layer;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but on an enlarged scale and showing the covering assembly bent around the upper frame piece into covering position;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the buckle in completely assembled condition with the lower frame piece telescoped thereinto;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View, on a reduced scale, of the assembled and covered buckle; and

Fig. 6 is a top plan view thereof.

The buckle frame comprises an upper frame piece generally designated 2 which is adapted to be covered and a lower frame piece generally designated 4 which is adapted to be telescoped into the frame piece 2 in order to complete the assembly of the buckle. T he frame pieces are here shown in the form of a rectangle having sides 6 and 8 and ends 1t) and 12, a cross bar ld extending therebetween so that a pair of open spaces lo and 18 are formed centrally thereof, the lower frame piece 4 having corresponding parts similarly designated but differentiated by being primed. The sides, ends and cross bars at least of the upper frame piece 2 are hollow and open at the bottom so that the corresponding portions of the lower frame piece 4 and portions of the covering material hereinafter to be described can be received therewith.

The upper frame piece 2 is adapted to be covered by a layer of fabric or the like generally designated 20. A sheet of pliable and form-retaining material generally designated 22 is adapted to be secured to the covering layer 20 and interposed between it and the upper frame piece 2. The sheet 22 may be formed of metal foil or the like. As shown in Fig. l the sheet 22 has its undersurface coated with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive, and is initially supplied with a strippable paper sheet 24 covering the adhesived surface so as to protect the adhesive. The sheet 22 is of a size and shape corresponding to that of the frame piece 2 but somewhat larger, so that it can serve as a template for the cutting of the covering layer 20 to the proper size and shape for the particular frame piece 2 involved. The sheet 22, after the protective paper 241 has been stripped therefrom, may be placed atop a larger sheet of the covering layer 20 and secured thereto, after which that larger sheet of covering layer can be cut around the periphery of the sheet 22, as indicated by the dot-dash line 2li' in Fig. l, so that it will take the shape of the sheet 22.

The sheet 22 is provided with a preformed embossing producing an intaglio pattern or depression on its nonadhesived surface corresponding to the configuration of the ring portion of the buckle frame 2. That pattern, in Fig. l, is generally designated 26, and, for the particular l frame piece 2 illustrated, comprises interconnected depressions 6a, 8a, 10a and 12a corresponding respectively to the sides and ends 6-12 of the frame piece 2. The central portion of the sheet 22 is further provided with a pattern of cuts or scores generally designated 28 and here specifically shown as comprising parallel lateral lines 30 terminating in short longitudinally oriented lines 32, longitudinally oriented lines 34 extending outwardly in opposite directions from the centers of the lines 30 and then branching into diagonal lines 36. These lines of cuts or scoring 3f-3e serve as guides through which the home dressmaker will cut in order to produce corresponding cuts in the covering layer 2@ therebeneath, in this way forming flaps 38, ill and 42 inside the intaglio pattern 26.

To cover and assemble the buckle the first step is to apply the form retaining sheet 22 to the covering layer 2G, cut the covering layer 20 to the size and shape of the sheet 22, and cut through the lines Sil-36, as above described. Next the upper frame piece 2 is inverted and placed upon the exposed surface of the sheet 22 so that its sides and ends 6-ll2 are received inside the portions 6al2a of the intaglio pattern 26, as may be seen in Fig. 2. This will ensure the accurate centering and overall proper positioning of the frame piece 2 relative tothe covering assembly 201, 22.

Next those portions of the covering assembly 2l), '22 outside the intaglio pattern 26 Vare bent up around land folded into the exposed sides and ends of the frame piece 2. Because of the preformed intaglio pattern 26 this is a relatively easy thing to accomplish, even at the corners of the buckle frame, because the intaglio pattern 26 in effect produces a prebending which accurately conforms to the periphery of the frame piece 2. Because of the form-retaining nature of the sheet 22, once one of the sections of the peripheral portion of the covering assembly 2l), 22 has been thus bent and infolded, it will remain in that position while other sections thereof are similarly bent up and infolded. It is an easy matter to thus draw the covering assembly 20, 22 tautly over the vsurface of the frame piece 2 and to form smooth and attractive corners. Any tendency of the frame Apiece 2 to shift from its centered position because of the tension exerted on the covering assembly 20, 22 in folding it up and in will be resisted because of the depressed or intaglio areas in which the frame piece 2 is received. If there should be any shift of the frame piece 2 that will immediately become apparent because portions of the intaglio pattern 26, preferably hidden by the frame piece 2, will become visible and the home dressmaker can move the frame piece 2 back to proper position before proceeding further.

Next the flaps 38 are bent Vup around the sides of the cross bar 14, the flaps 40 are bent up around the inside of the sides 6 and 8, andthe aps 42 are bent up around the inside of the ends l0 and 12 of the frame piece 2, the two latter sets of flap-s preferably being of sufficient length so as to be folded inside the corresponding sides and ends of the frame piece 2. This condition of the buckle is shown in Fig. 3.

Thereafter the lower frame piece 4 is telescoped into the covered frame piece 2, there to be held by friction and, if desired, by any other means, such as the crimping of the central portions of the cross bar 14 of the upper frame piece 2 so as to engage the cross bar 14 of the lower buckle section 4.

In order to assist in the immediate ascertaining of the shift of the frame piece y2 while it is being covered, and in order to make more apparent the function and purpose of the intaglio pattern 26 on the form retaining sheet 22, the exposed surface of the sheet 22 corresponding to the intaglio pattern 26 may be colored or Vmarked in a manner contrasting visually with the remainder of that exposed surface.

Thus it will be seen that the form retaining sheet 22, in the form here specifically disclosed not only facilitates the covering of buckles in -the .manner .set forthlin my copending application Ser. No. 548,937, previously referred to, but also ensures that the buckle frame piece to be covered will be accurately centered with respect to the covering assembly 20, 22, that covering of the corners or other sharply curved or angled portions thereof may be readily accomplished, and that the flaps for covering the inner surfaces of the frame piece are accurately and effectively produced and manipulated, and all in a way which will be readily understandable even to a user of normal mechanical skill.

While but a single embodiment of the present invention has been here disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations maybe made therein, all Within the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A covered buckle comprising, in combination, a ringshaped frame piece having a central opening, a covering layer covering the outer and side surfaces of said frame piece and having a surface which faces said frame piece, and, interposed between said covering layer and said frame piece and secured to that surface of said covering layer facing said frame piece, a sheet of pliable and form-retaining material, said sheet having formed intaglio on the surface thereof facing said frame piece a pattern corresponding to the shape of said frame piece and depressed below the level of said sheet proper, into which intaglio pattern said frame piece is adapted'to be received, said sheet, with said covering layer secured thereto, being adapted to be bent up around saidframe piece so as to secure said covering layer thereto.

References Cited in the le of thisA patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,832 Miller Aug. 2, 1927 2,076,249 Parke Apr. 6, 1937 2,228,771 Levin et al. Ian. 14, 1941 2,577,898 Lerma Dec. 1l, 1951 2,624,089 Eaton Jan. 6, 1953 2,643,430 Koehl et al. June 30, 1953 2,654,927 Tansman` Oct. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 986,290 France Mar. 21, 1951 986,564 France 1 Mar. 28, 1951

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